In Time
by accioepiphany
Summary: Alicia and Finn found themselves in a known territory: a bar. Drinking and talking about everything and nothing, they spend the evening enjoying the present moment. Inspired by Nina Simone's song Just in time.


She fumbled through the crowd. The bar was busy that Thursday, she wondered if it had anything to do with the ongoing snow storms because if it was for her the climate would mean going home early. It was funny though, that instead, as the usual crowd at the bar, she was finding warm in other drinkers.

She checked the faces in the tables, some wearing serious expressions while drinking vodka, some laughing at incoherences over beer, one staring at his watch with a bourbon in his hand and a glass of wine waiting near.

She smiled at the picture it created. He caught her eyes and raise his hand, giving her a quick smirk; she followed it.

"So we are back to bars"

"I still have nightmares with that diner"

"And I thought we had actually had a good time"

Alicia laughed, she wasn't sure anymore about the reason behind it. It was part trust, easiness; but it was also part nervousness, trying to avoid other reactions.

"How is Cary?"

"Not good. Just came from jail"

"It's still very recent… How about you?"

"Yeah. I don't know…"

Alicia was staring at her glass of wine while shifting it between her thumb and index, watching the scarlet fluid leave different stains in the glass.

"Hey. I'm glad we could finally arrange this. I think both of us need a break from all the insanity that's been going on in the past month"

She finally lifted her eyes from the wine, right into his, apologetically.

"I'm sorry we couldn't coincide before. Really. All this business with Cary, and well, the campaign..."

"Alicia, I have had to cancel some of them too. It's on both of us. What I mean is that I'm glad about now, here. And that maybe we should talk of other things, different from the… troubles. Give ourselves a time out"

He was feeling the ground, taking small steps, testing her ever telling expressions. She hinted a smile. The ground was safe.

"Time out? So can we talk about anything?"

Now she was raising an eyebrow, teasing. Among the million feelings that woke up in Finn, the one that overtook him was happiness. She was relaxing and that made him happy.

"What do you want to discuss?"

"How many shots of tequila can you take?"

-ooo-

The crowded bar was empty now. There was a group of three friends sitting on a table in the corner, a couple getting very cuddly around the center of the establishment and a man with a loose tie near the couple, table full of empty shot glasses, raising his palm in front of the face of a lady in a red skirt suit smiling at the hand.

"I swear to you I once stood five hours outside, in the winter, while only wearing shorts, just to play judge at a mock trial in university"

"Oh, you're full of crap. Five hours outside in the winter and half naked will give you hypothermia!"

"It did! I end up not playing the judge cause I got interned at the hospital for five days"

Alicia bursted into laugher. She didn't knew if it was the Tequila, the peacefulness of no-crowds, or the temporal oblivion of reality, but right now she was just here, enjoying the scene.

"So… what was the point then?"

"Well… my fellow contestant also suffered of hypothermia, a much minor case, cause he only lasted three hours, but, we both couldn't play judge… And we were talking about embarrassing moments. So! …it was really a disaster"

"It was"

Finn shrugged and released a wide smile in answer to hers.

"How about you, huh? There are really no embarrassing moments in Alicia Florrick's life?"

"Well, my husband announced publicly, with me by his side, that he fucked a hooker several times… I think I win" She was smiling and raising her eyebrows to light up the tone of the statement she has just said. Finn was not sure how to take it, but he decided to play along.

"Ok. You do. That totally beats hypothermia"

She smirked, approving his response, marveling at his charm for a moment. He was so paced, so careful, but yet so bold and confident as well. She wondered if staring at his eyes for a long time could transmit some of these traits she sometimes wished came so easily for her. He stared back, this type of opportunities with Alicia came rarely and he wanted to hold on them as long as possible. Alicia kept holding his gaze, until she felt it might end up somewhere else, somewhere she shouldn't go to, or somewhere she was afraid of going to? So she shifted her view to what was behind him.

"Ugh. They're kind of making me uncomfortable"

A little taken aback Finn looked at the couple cuddling behind him. Then turned back and got closer to Alicia's face, teasingly.

"What exactly is making you uncomfortable?" He wasn't afraid of going places.

"Well…"

His eyes were too much. His self assurance was too much. His care and warmth, and hair. Even his name that kind of resounded around that steady face with a proposition on it, was too much. In that moment she noticed how different he was from everyone else, and by everyone else she mainly meant Peter and Will.

A familiar tune reached her ears, _just in time… you found me just in time..._ and Alicia smiled to herself because that was exactly how she was seeing things happening, despite of the fear that crawled every time she realized it. She might regretted sometimes spending all that time beside Peter, while never getting the handle of time with Will, but there was something so natural about Finn, so in time. There was never too much or too little of it with him.

He saw her smiling instead of completing her answer.

"What?"

"Nothing… The song. I don't know. It's like we are back at the diner with the guitar player" Now she was laughing.

He laughed back, but kept staring at her, intrigued. The music in the background kept playing… _now you're here, I know just where I'm going..._ _no more doubt or fear… I've found my way…_ Both still now, serious, focused on their faces and the song. He was waiting for her, letting the piano play. He knew if something was happening, something worth it, it will have to come from her. She kept listening, _just in time… you found me… Before you came, my time was running low…_ while marveling at the assurance in his eyes. She didn't broke the gaze this time.

"Finn…"

"Alicia"

"Why can't I just do it?"

"I don't know" He kind of knew, though.

"I don't want to screw this up"

"You hold too many worries… so much what ifs"

"I'm s-"

"Don't. Don't apologize. Not for something you haven't done yet"

He then raised his left hand and took a strain of hair behind her ear, then hold her cheek within his hand.

"You know when I told you things could be simpler if you wanted to?"

"mhmm"

"I think you already knew that. But you like difficulty, complicated things… because you can deal with them, and there's a rush in being able to face them. You don't want things to be easy. But…" He dropped his hand and placed it over hers. "…But sometimes what you want has nothing to do with what you need. And I think, right now, you do need easy, simple, even if it doesn't come with the thrill… or if it's full of worry" He lifted his hand from hers and broke the stare while standing up and putting on his coat. The song ended, while a christmas carol seemed to be replacing it.

Alicia looked up, disappointed.

"You're leaving?"

It was both and accusation and an invite to something she wasn't quite sure about.

"For tonight, yes. We'll see each other again" He looked away. "I couldn't leave you out of my life if I wanted to" He returned to her gaze and continued what he was saying. "But I need to now, because this is hurting me" Then he gave her the biggest smile he could at that state of being and that time of the night. He kept talking. "I'm calling you a cab and then I'm taking one. Are you ok going by yourself to your apartment? You… are fine?"

Alicia wasn't listening, she had stop listening when he said this was hurting him. She didn't wanted that, she had never intended that, hurt was not the idea. She really didn't knew what was the idea, but this side effect was not… Alicia took his hand when he stopped talking.

"Maybe I do want simple"

And she stood up while keeping it in hold. The next thing she did, she did fully conscious, thinking about the consequences for everything, but mostly, for the two of them.

She grabbed with her free hand his face and kissed him gently, and he returned the kiss in the same way. When they got apart, Alicia was smiling and Finn was too.

"Would you mind keeping me company till my apartment, I'm not so sure of my motor skills" She said moving the hand in his face to his arm while steading herself.

He laughed.

"What are you sure of?"

It was more a joke than a statement, but she decided to addressed it as the latter. And trying to sound as strong and conscious as the alcohol aloud her, she answered.

"I'm sure about now, and you. And I need you to know, the least thing I want to do is hurt you. I'm not sure about anything else really…" she laughed to herself "…but that you… you make things simpler"

There was proud in Finn's eyes, of seeing her overcome fear, and love, but he didn't knew how to name any of it, he just felt it. And so he stood there, looking at her in those eyes.

"Cab?" She asked.

Still a little numb, mute, he nodded. Then they walked hand in hand through the exit door and, suddenly, the coldness of the winter was invisible to these two people waiting together under the snow.


End file.
